Eastern and Sexton high school students tour PSM with FFA Open House event
Print
EmailDuring the recent PSM Open House, hosted by Erin Bosch Hannah for the FFA convention, Eunice Foster brought seventeen Lansing high school students along for the ride
During our recent Spring Break (5-7 March), thousands of students affiliated with the 97th Michigan FFA State Convention, a student-led organization that supports agricultural education and prepares students for careers in agriculture, agribusiness, and related fields, visited MSU. During each annual visit, Erin Bosch Hannah organizes PSM faculty volunteers to tour the students through their labs and research activities, to expose them to PSM research and activities and encourage them to consider our department when making decisions about college.
This year for the first time Eunice Foster brought seventeen local Lansing high school students along to join the tour and get a glimpse of life in the labs right here in PSM. “Last year this time, Brian Horgan approached me with the idea to bring these kids on this tour,” said Eunice, who guided the students from Eastern and Sexton High Schools through the activities along with one of their science teachers. Over the years Dr Foster has nurtured a relationship with students and teachers at these schools and has encouraged current PSM students to engage the local community as much as possible. “We really are making a difference in these students’ experience and understanding of what MSU and PSM are all about.”
For the tour, several faculty and their students prepared sample activities representing their research. In Michelle Hulin’s lab, students learned about Molecular Study of Bacterial Plant Diseases, and took turns with the pipette and other standard lab equipment. Alongside the FFA visitors, students from Eastern and Sexton High Schools in Lansing took turns working at the bench, and had a moment to consult with about what it’s like to become a researcher at MSU.
Linda Hanson, who leads the Sugar Beet and Bean Research Lab, prepared an activity she calls “Plant Disease Detectives” in which students examined potatoes and onions for common pathogens and discussed why they are problematic. After a brief introduction, students got busy trying to identify the nature of certain spots on produce they might find in the grocery store.
Dr Eunice Foster is director of MSU's STEM-FEE program, which brings young scholars together with Lansing high school students to explore hands-on science activities in their own classrooms.
Other hosts and their activities includes:
Erin Hill: “Wonderous and Woeful Weeds”
Alejandro Rojas: “Friends or Foes: Fundal Symbiont of Plants”
Agronomy Club members: Emma Kuhl, Tyler Worden, Will Duthler: “Equipment Demo & Agronomy Club”
Fidel E. Jiménez-Beitia: “A Plant Pathology Perspective on Disease Management “
Susan Gruber: “Teaching Greenhouse “
Bernard Frantz (Wessel Lab): “Soil Judging Tour & Demo”
Pavani Tumbalam (GLBRC): “Biofuels “
Kim Cassida: “Soil Healh”
